A Tip Of The Hat

A few days ago I bragged on my son Kevin and the excellent article he wrote for the Lagniappe publication in Mobile about receiving one of his great grandmother’s quilts.

Somehow the article came to the attention of Governor Kay Ivey, my long ago Auburn classmate, and she took the time to send Kevin a very thoughtful hand-written note. He was very impressed and indeed grateful. As was his daddy.

These are the kind of gestures that seem fewer and fewer as the world increases speed. Which is probably why they carry so much impact.

CHARLIE JOHNSON, BAPTIST OF THE YEAR

Though my friend Charlie Johnson lives in Texas, he grew up in Monroe County, AL. He is the Baptist minister who started Pastors for Texas Children, an organization that is a strong advocate for public schools in the Lone Star state.

At last count, more than 1,000 Texas churches have become partners with local K 12 schools. And similar groups have been started in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Tennessee and elsewhere. Charlie’s group is also a strong public education advocate in the Texas legislature and haS been instrumental in keeping public dollars from being diverted to private school vouchers.

This work has not gone unnoticed as Charlie was recently named Baptist of the Year in Texas by the group, EthicsDaily.com.

Congratulations to Charlie.

Editor’s note: Charlie would love to come to Alabama and plant the seed for an Alabama-based group similar in scope to what is being done in other places. We have had several conversations about this. However, to this point I have not been able to round up much interest. If you know of some ministers who would like to learn more, let me know. larrylee133@gmail.com